Public school funding for military cadet forces diverted to state sector

Head teachers at leading public schools accuse Government of 'robbing Peter to
pay Paul' with reforms, which represent first cut in funding for existing
cadet forces since Second World War

Michael Gove and Philip Hammond have agreed to divert funding for cadet forces in private schools to state sectorPhoto: Rex Features

Steven Swinford and Ben Farmer

10:00PM GMT 14 Feb 2014

Public schools will lose millions of pounds of funding and support for cadet forces under plans to divert the money into the state sector.

Head teachers at leading public schools on Friday accused the Government of “robbing Peter to pay Paul” with the reforms, which represent the first cut in funding for existing cadet forces since the Second World War.

At present, 261 schools, three quarters of which are private, receive more than £26 million a year to fund their Combined Cadet Forces (CCFs).

The funding helps meet the cost of staff training, uniforms, rifles and other facilities.

However, David Cameron, who was a member of the cadet force at Eton, has pledged to introduce 100 new cadet units in state schools by the end of 2015.

This week ministers agreed to help fulfil that promise by sharing the funding enjoyed by existing CCFs with the state schools, after months of bitter in-fighting between the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Education.

It was the latest clash involving Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, who has developed a reputation for his frank approach with other ministers.

Earlier this week, Mr Gove said that Britain is “poorer” because private school education are being “rationed overwhelmingly to the rich”.

Thomas Garnier, the head teacher at Pangbourne College who represents CCF units for the Independent Schools Council, warned that cadet units at private schools could be forced to close.

He said: “It’s all very well to say I want this available in all schools, but you have to put your money where your mouth is.

“If you spread the same jam over more schools then you will find the quality of experience offered will be diluted. It plays well to present the independent schools as rolling in money. The reality is that the vast majority of them are having to make really tough decisions about how they spend their money.”

In June 2012, David Cameron pledged to introduce cadet forces in 100 state schools to “open up new horizons” for secondary school children. The cost of running the new units, estimated at up to £40,000 a year per school, was supposed to be met by a combination of government funding, school budgets and philanthropists. This fell short, leading to tense discussions between ministries.

On Thursday, Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, and Mr Gove reached an agreement to share existing funding. Under the plans, 100 state schools will set up cadet units by the end of 2015. A further 250 are expected to follow suit.

A Ministry of Defence source said that the Government will launch a consultation on the reforms later this year, and that the funding changes would happen “gradually” over a four-year period.

The source said: “Cadet units are beneficial to both society and for recruitment into the Armed Forces, that is why we want to increase the number of them.”

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “No decisions have been made, and in the spring, we are looking to launch a consultation which will allow us to gather feedback and find the best way to move forward.”